Numerous types of flashlights have been developed, assembled, manufactured, and marketed for some time. In fact, many such flashlights have been made of the miniaturized type, so as to conveniently fit within any available but yet small capacity storage space, such as a glove department in an automobile, in a pocket book, or even in the pocket. One such flashlight is shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,490 relating to an encased flashlight and which is assigned to a common assignee. In the structure of that device, the resiliency of the cap and casing of the back of the flashlight, at the rear end of the battery, contains sufficient resiliency to provide for the contact providing for conduction of the charge, and lighting of its held lamp.
The current invention provides improved means for facilitating in the shifting of the operative components of the flashlight together, but arranging most of the electrical contacting components secured at the frontal end of the flashlight, to assure adequate but sufficient electrical contact for illumination of its light.
Other United States patents showing related type of technology can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,359 entitled flashlight having resilience sleeve. This invention includes a resilience sleeve that surrounds the conductive casing, for the light.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,368, to Humbert, shows a keyhole illuminating apparatus. This is a small type of flashlight, of the keyhole type, having an ignition button at its back end, for forcing the battery forwardly, and includes means for contacting the biasing spring, surrounding the light, with the casing of the battery, through the usage of a retainer disk.
The early patent to Feldman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,871 shows another type of pocket flashlight. It is configured in what appears to be a soda bottle, in its structure.
The United States patent to Swanson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,258,074, shows another form of flashlight. The problem, though, is that its biasing spring is in close contact with the positive end of the battery terminal, and therefore, could easily cause a short during its operations.
Another patent is the U.S. Pat. No. 2,150,644, to Batcheller. This device apparently requires that the entire sleeve of the device shift, in order to cause the lamp to make contact for illumination.
Finally, the patent to Hopkins, U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,627, discloses a hand lamp, which is a more standard appearing type of flashlight, very old in the art.